Northern 91

[91Vieja]

Good to know, I’ll keep that in the back of my mind.

Almost everything is back together, just need to route a new 3” exhaust aft of the y-pipe. Trans, transfer case, and driveshafts with new u-joints went in yesterday. Had to heat up the y-pipe and bend the drivers side tube about 1/2 an inch to mate up with the header.

Also swapped leaky valve cover gaskets to the newer style 1-piece rubber ones. And because it seems I must paint every part that comes off this truck, and because I only had Ford blue enamel left in the cabinet:

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Yeah, that’ll have to change soon.

 

[91Vieja]

So I’m stumped and need help folks.

Got the exhaust finished up and went for a test drive. Issue is, it won’t shift into 2WD. 4Hi, 4Lo, and neutral on the transfer case all work fine. I’ve double checked the linkage and all the wiring. When the transfer case lever is in 2WD, it acts like it’s still in 4Hi. When I had it out, I re-sealed the case seams, but didn’t touch the internals at all.

Any ideas?

 

[91Vieja]

Narrowed it down to the actuator on the front diff. My theory is it was in 4x4 (engaged) when the transfer case came out, but when it got reinstalled and first key-on, for some reason the actuator tried to engage but already was fully extended. So currently, any time it has key-on power, it extends, and won’t retract when the switched power from the transfer case is cut, like it’s supposed to. Verified again all the wiring is correct. So temporarily, to get 2WD, I manually retracted the plunger and installed it without the wiring harness connected. Will have to order a new one and hope that solves the problem.

 

[91Vieja]

And guess what - turns out it broke a CV joint in the front trying to turn back into the garage when it was locked in 4x4. And the hits just keep on coming.

 

[91Vieja]

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Waiting on parts, did a few small things. Mocked up the new wheels. With some 285’s I think they will look good. Also painted underneath all the wheel arch chrome trim, and redid the trailer wiring.

 

[91Vieja]

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New CV axles up front. Old sway bar end link sheared when I took it off, so I ended up fabricating a temporary one out of some rod I had laying around. New end links and new shocks on the way.

 

[91Vieja]

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Took the old girl into the mountains camping for a few days. Noticeable increase in power above 2500 rpm with the headers & y-pipe.

 

[91Vieja]

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Pretty much buttoned up for now. Did new rear brakes, new front shocks, and replaced header gaskets with good fel-pro ones. 4x4 woes turned out to be a faulty position switch on the transfer case. Runs like a top now, and for the first time I can remember, everything works, and there are no strange noises or squeaks.

 

[91Vieja]

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Saw this cheap cup holder/console and bought it on a whim. Shaved the bottom flat with an angle grinder, put some Velcro on to keep it in place, and painted it as close a match as I could find to the rest of the trim.

 

[91Vieja]

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Scored some brand new tires on steelies for a good deal. Guy bought a base 2020 Sierra and drove it straight to the tire shop. For anyone wondering, 2019+ offset the wheels out slightly more to fit bigger brakes, but they still fit OBS the same as the 1999-2018 6-lug wheels a lot of guys swap to.